Molecular chain stretch is a multiaxial failure criterion for conventional and highly crosslinked UHMWPE

The development of accurate theoretical failure, fatigue, and wear models for ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) is an important step towards better understanding the micromechanisms of the surface damage that occur in load bearing orthopaedic components and improving the lifetime of joint arthoplasties. Previous attempts to analytically predict the clinically observed damage, wear, and fatigue failure modes have met with limited success due to the complicated interaction between microstructural deformations and continuum level stresses. In this work, we examined monotonic uniaxial and multiaxial loading to failure of UHMWPE using eight failure criteria (maximum principal stress, Mises stress, Tresca stress, hydrostatic stress, Coulomb stress, maximum principal strain, Mises strain, and chain stretch). The quality of the predictions of the different models was assessed by comparing uniaxial tension and small punch test data at different rates with the failure model predictions. The experimental data were obtained for two conventional (unirradiated and gamma radiation sterilized in nitrogen) and two highly crosslinked (150 kGy, remelted and annealed) UHMWPE materials. Of the different failures models examined, the chain stretch failure model was found to capture uniaxial and multiaxial failure data most accurately for all of the UHMWPE materials. In addition, the chain stretch failure criterion can readily be calculated for contemporary UHMWPE materials based on available uniaxial tension data. These results lay the foundation for future developments of damage and wear models capable of predicting multiaxial failure under cyclic loading conditions.